Seoul City to Introduce 'Youth Pass' Supporting Public Transport Fares and Moving Costs... Prioritizing Three Major Areas

Public Transportation Fare Up to 100,000 KRW Annually for All Youths Aged 19-24
Up to 400,000 KRW per Person 'Moving Expense Support' to Alleviate Maximum Housing Cost Burden Felt by Youth

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 27th, Seoul City announced that starting next year, it will implement 11 projects across three areas of the ‘Everyday Life Support Policies Desired by Youth,’ which were established based on the opinions of youth stakeholders and experts from the Seoul Vision 2030 Committee and the Youth Policy Network.

The three major policies?Youth PASS, Youth SAVE, and Youth JUMP?will be sequentially implemented from next year with an investment of 34.5 billion KRW. First, Seoul City announced the ‘Youth PASS’ project, which includes support for youth public transportation fares, the establishment of the Youth Mongttang Information Hub, moving cost support for youth, and the Seoul Youth Together RUN program.

Starting next year, Seoul will provide up to 100,000 KRW annually in public transportation fare support to youth aged 19 to 24 living in Seoul, regardless of income or property. The system will accumulate 20% of the annual public transportation usage amount (up to 100,000 KRW) as mileage, which can be used for bus, subway, and other public transportation fares. Seoul plans to operate this by building a website that accepts applications once a year, with mileage reimbursements made semiannually. The budget required for next year’s project is approximately 15 billion KRW, and Seoul will request new budget allocation from the city council.

Additionally, Seoul City will integrate over 1,000 youth policy information sources scattered across the city and central government and introduce AI search functionality to establish the ‘Youth Mongttang Information Hub’ early next year. This platform will enable one-stop personalized information search, application, reception, and processing. It also plans to enhance search efficiency by linking with private platforms.

To alleviate housing instability and cost burdens caused by frequent moves, Seoul will also provide vouchers worth 400,000 KRW per person to single-person youth households. The target group includes single-person youth households aged 19 to 39 who reside in Seoul or plan to move into Seoul. The vouchers can be used for moving expenses, brokerage fees, cleaning costs, and other moving-related expenses. Seoul plans to enable the use of these vouchers at affordable rates through agreements with the Real Estate Agents Association and moving companies.

This project was proposed through the ‘Seoul Youth Citizens’ Assembly,’ which involves youth stakeholders, and the annual budget required is 2 billion KRW. As this is the first project of its kind nationwide, Seoul plans to secure the project budget through supplementary budgeting next year after revising related ordinances and conducting social security consultations.

Furthermore, to prevent chronic disease risks such as obesity and metabolic syndrome in advance, Seoul will promote the ‘Seoul Youth Together RUN’ project. This initiative aims to support health management for Seoul youth aged 19 to 39, moving away from the government and local governments’ health support projects that have mainly focused on middle-aged and older adults. Seoul plans to prioritize participants in the ‘On Seoul Health On’ self-health management project using smart bands and operate community-based group exercise programs such as running crews and plogging by region to help youth easily and enjoyably achieve their targeted activity levels.

Meanwhile, Seoul plans to announce the five-year plan ‘2025 Seoul Youth Comprehensive Plan’ at the end of the year, which includes the 11 projects across the three areas of the ‘Everyday Life Support Policies Desired by Youth.’

Kim Cheol-hee, head of Seoul City’s Future Youth Planning Division, said, “We will make multifaceted efforts to support policies that youth can tangibly feel,” adding, “We will continue to develop various projects so that all Seoul youth can enjoy them without discrimination.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.